Message from Councilman Mark Gjonaj
Volunteers needed to spend time with homebound seniors
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,42 FEBRUARY 14-20, 2020 BTR
COUNCILMAN MARK GJONAJ
Looking for volunteers to spend
an hour a week with a homebound
senior who spends too much time
alone.
The program is sponsored by the
NYC Department for the Aging and
coordinated by the organization
Neighborhood SHOPP.
Requirements include:
• Must be 18 years of age or over
* Commit to being a Friendly Visitor
for a minimum of six months
• Comfortable establishing a relationship
with an older adult
• Honest, mature, motivated, pa-
tient
• Ability to maintain confidentiality
• Willing and able to contact the
program coordinator should problems
arise
• Participate in an in-person interview
• Undergo and pass a background
check and provide references
The program aims for One hour
per week, for a period of six months.
Flexible hours and days are provided
to allow for a mutually convenient
time for the volunteer and senior
to meet
For volunteers, friendly visiting
offers the opportunity to cultivate
a lasting friendship, to learn from a
senior’s life experiences, and to benefit
from the personal satisfaction
derived from community service.
For the senior, friendly visiting
provides a sense of connection to
the outside world, something to look
forward to, and a sense of contributing
to society through sharing their
wisdom, knowledge, talents and stories
with you.
Friendly visiting leads to the creation
of meaningful relationships
between older adults and volunteers,
promoting inter-generational
understanding.
If you are interested, email
Vladimir Rodriguez at vrodriguez@
nshopp.org
Founded in 1980 and incorporated
in 1981, Neighborhood Self
Help by Older Persons Project, Inc.
(NSHOPP) is a non-profit multiservice
agency. The central office is
located in Bronx Community Board
District 2.
Discretionary funding is an important
component of the New York City
Council’s expense budget. The eligible
parties for reception of discretionary
funding are any non-profi t organization,
and especially those that promote
overall community engagement, or any
sort of recreational, educational and/
or cultural development. Last year I
was proud to allocate approximately $2
million in discretionary funding. Discretionary
funding is a vital way for
the city to select and support the organizations
that bring our communities
up and foster their well-being. It is also
a way for us City Councilmembers,
your elected community offi cials, to
identify gaps in community need and
direct funding towards it.
I have successfully funded an array
of non-profi t organizations through
my offi ce, including police precincts,
BIDs, civic organizations, community
organizations, libraries, PTAs,
schools (public and private), senior
centers, and veterans organizations.
This is of course not an exhaustive list,
and if you are a non-profi t that encourages
civic engagement that does not
fall into any of the above categories, I
still encourage you to apply.
Tuesday, February 18, the deadline
for fi scal year 2021’s Discretionary
Funding Expense application,
is quickly approaching. If you are an
organization interested or in need of
discretionary funding, I implore you
to apply as soon as possible. After this
date, the application will be completely
closed and prospective applicants will
otherwise have to wait until next year
for 2022 applications. I do not want any
organization eligible for this funding
to miss out.
You can access and submit the application
at council.nyc.gov/budget.
For further information and additional
inquiries, please contact my district
offi ce at (718) 931-1721, my legislation
offi ce at (212) 788-7375 or email at
MGjonaj@council.nyc.gov.
If you are an organization that has
been selected to receive discretionary
funding, you can visit https://www1.
nyc.gov/site/mocs/partners/discretionary
award-tracker.page to check
your award status and understand the
next steps you need to take in order to
receive your funding.
Thank you in your assistance as I
strive to make our Bronx community
safer, cleaner and better.
BY GEORGE HAVRANEK
The themes of the Spencer
Estate Civic Association
2020 membership campaign
are love, unity, and quality
of life in the community. Information
has been mailed to
everyone on our 2019-membership
list. Widespread fl yer
distributions throughout our
footprint will commence on
Tuesday, February 18. Our
fi rst half schedule is fi nalized.
We are pleased that the
following dignitaries have
committed to address our
fi ne community:
March 18 – Councilman
Mark Gjonaj; April 15- 45th
Pct. - Capt. Thomas Fraser;
May 20- Assemblyman Michael
Benedetto; June 17-
Bronx D.A. Darcel Clarke;
and July 15- Senator Alessandra
Biaggi
Neighborhood Cleanliness
Issues affecting community
cleanliness and neatness
have arisen at past meetings.
Upon examination, it is evident
that compliance with
laws and ordinances tailored
to keeping our neighborhood
charming, neat, and clean
will lessen this problem.
• Pet owners must comply
with city regulations and
properly cleanup after their
pets. Failure to do so truly
degrades and soils our neighborhood.
• NYC Department of Sanitation
regulations must be
strictly followed. In Spencer
Estate bulk items are picked
up on Wednesday and recycling
occurs on Saturday. All
trash should be securely bundled
or packaged and placed
curbside after 4 p.m. the day
before scheduled pickup.
• Residential homeowners
are responsible to clean
the sidewalks adjoining their
property and 18 inches beyond
the curb into the street.
• Civil communication
should be used to resolve
community related issues
with neighbors, negligent
homeowners, or negligent
absentee landlords. If unsuccessful,
please report
the issue to 311 to generate
a complaint number. Please
bring the documentation to
our civic association meeting
to discuss any additional
actions.
• Illegal dumping in progress
should be reported immediately
to 911, all other incidents
go through 311.
• Report neglected properties
to 311. The vigilance of
concerned area residents accompanied
by the past efforts
of Bronx Community Board
10, Councilman Gjonaj, and
DOS led to various cleanups
around the Spencer Estate
footprint. The removals of
two abandoned unseaworthy
boats and over one hundred
illegally dumped truck tires
on Bruckner Boulevard, a neglected
lot on Griswold Avenue
and the utility triangle
at the Ampere Avenue/Middletown
Road convergence
were among past area cleanups.
An overwhelming majority
of residents faithfully
follow these neighborhood
friendly rules; however, it
only takes a small number to
tarnish the efforts of many.
Please, let us all do our part
in preserving the charming
characteristic of our neighborhood
by keeping our
neighborhood clean and abiding
by the ‘See something.
Say something’ mantra.
The serenity and stability
in many of our charming
communities can be
disrupted by recent legislative
uncertainty. This is a
wakeup call. Now, more than
ever community involvements
are needed to ensure
and maintain the quality of
life and characteristic of a
neighborhood.
Recent events have provoked
a call to action across
many municipalities.
Whether by happenstance or
design, the actions of investors,
lobbyists, activists, and
politicians under the guise
of aiding the less fortunate
have created divergent pathways
of confusion.
Residents of Spencer Estates
and other communities
take a moment to ponder how
recent legislations and other
modifi cations can affect the
long-term emotional and fi -
nancial commitments placed
in your stable neighborhoods.
A message to all: Please support
your local community
organizations.
Political leaders to gauge
a community’s strength use
the attendances at local civic
association meetings. Large
turnouts by community residents
show elected offi cials
that we have the fortitude
and resolve needed to confront
adversity.
The initial 2020 meeting of
the Spencer Estate Civic Association
is Wednesday, March
18, 7:30 p.m. at Knights of Columbus
(corner of Ampere
and Research avenues). Our
scheduled keynote speaker
is valued friend, Councilman
Mark Gjonaj. Any area homeowner
or renter interested
in membership to the all inclusive
Spencer Estate Civic
Association in box George
Havranek on Facebook or
send-email to spencerestatecivic@
gmail.com.
Remember: ‘Inclusion
brings solutions.”
/nshopp.org
/www1
link
link
link
/budget
/www1
/gmail.com
link